The Real Deal New York

Corcoran broker swindled hedge funder out of $2.5M to benefit himself and lover, lawsuit claims

Jason Schommer accused of “duping” financier into overpaying for renovations on property

January 16, 2017 11:00AM

Jason Schommer and 34 Jermain Avenue in Sag Harbor

Build, baby, build.

A Manhattan hedge funder claims a Corcoran Group broker bilked him into paying $2.5 million for renovations on his new Hamptons pad, and then redirected some of the building materials to homes the broker and his lover owned on the East End.

When Matthew Smith was looking for a Sag Harbor property he could make his full-time home, he turned to his longtime agent Jason Schommer, who directed him to a fixer-upper at 34 Jermain Avenue, according to the lawsuit reported by the New York Post. Schommer then recommended that Smith hire Michael Nobiletti for the renovation job.

Smith, who paid $1.2 million for the four-bedroom home at 34 Jermain in 2013, was assured the renovation would cost $700,000, according to a claim he lodged in Long Island’s federal court. However, Smith alleges that after he and his family moved into the property, he noticed building materials and workers were missing, and that they had been redirected to two other properties. Those homes — a Sag Harbor house and a two-bedroom in Water Mill — are owned by Nobiletti and Schommer respectively, according to the suit.

Smith later learned that Nobiletti and Schommer were lovers, according to the court papers.

“He finally understood, to his shock and horror, why the project at 34 Jermain had tripled in cost,” the $3 million lawsuit claims. “He was actually paying for three renovations.” Smith is also suing Nobiletti for breach of contract.

Smith’s lawyer, Alex Kriegsman, argues that because Smith paid for materials and work that went into Schommer and Nobiletti’s homes, “parts of those houses now belong to him.”

Schommer denied the allegations, according to the Post, which couldn’t reach representatives for Nobiletti.

Schommer has been a broker for 17 years, according to his page on Corcoran, and is marketing land at 794 Montauk Highway for $30 million and 2168 Scuttlehole Road for $16.6 million. [NYP] — Miriam Hall